DEATH is a DIAMOND in the SKY
by bbbecca
Summary: It's Remus and Lily's 5th year, and they're both Prefects. After spending lots of time together with their Prefect duties, Remus starts to get a little crush on Lily. He invites her to hang out with him and his friends...lots of twists! lj
1. Chapter 1

"Don't forget to finish your essays tonight! You're all dismissed," Albus Dumbledore had to yell over the loud bustling of his Transfiguration class.

Lily sighed as she left the room, "He'll never stop giving us huge essays to write every night, will he?"

"Probably not."

The voice startled her, but as she turned around she recognized her fellow Prefect, Remus Lupin. She always liked him, he was so nice and polite.

"Dippet wanted me to tell you we have a meeting tonight at 7, in the Room of Requirements," he said.

"Thanks, I'll be there then."

She walked back to Gryffindor common room with her friends, and they sat around the fire; trying, but failing, to finish their mounds of homework.

"Hey Lily, don't you think Remus is kind of cute?" her best friend, Clair Steubing, asked.

"He's not that bad, but I would never like him that way!"

No matter how nice Remus Lupin was, it was hard for her to even begin thinking of him like that. He and his friends always loved pulling pranks on her. They were the pranksters of the school. His friends, especially James Potter, were so arrogant, and she hated them for that.

"Well we think he likes you," said her other best friend, Natalie, grinning widely.

"Come on you guys, you know who I like!"

"Yeah, yeah he's all you ever talk about. 'Ohh Paul, you're so beautiful! I love you, I love you!'" Claire and Natalie laughed at their impressions of Lily.

It was true. She was secretly in love with Paul Schmidt. She loved his flowing blonde hair, those piercing blue eyes, and especially his smile. She got lost in a daze just thinking of him. What she didn't know, was that Remus really did have a small crush on her, and she had no idea of what would happen next.


	2. Chapter 2

**Seven o'clock was approaching, so Lily decided to leave early for the Prefect meeting. She arrived at the Room of Requirements at exactly 6:55. People were still shuffling in and before she knew it, it was time for the meeting to start. **

Sean Davies, the Headboy, and Sue Marshall, the Headgirl, began giving out instructions.

"It's the Prefects duty to patrol the corridors," said Sean, "We will divide you into pairs and assign you to a certain corridor."

"Ugh, why'd I have to get here early," thought Lily. She would most likely be the last paired because she was in the back of the room.

Just as Sean was about to assign Lily a partner, Remus entered the Room of Requirements ten minutes late.

"Ahh, Lupin, nice of you to join us," said Sean, "You can work with Lily Evans tonight. And Lupin, try not to be late for the next prefect meeting."

"Sorry about that Davies," Remus replied sheepishly, as he made his way towards Lily, "I had a run-in with Peeves."

"So what'd Peeves do this time?" asked Lily.

"Well, he was threatening to throw dungbombs at James, Sirius, and me. It took us 15 minutes to rid him of them."

"That sounds awful!" sympathized Lily.

"Actually, it wasn't that bad," Remus chuckled, "The Bloody Baron showed up shortly after and scared him out of his wits."

Lily laughed, "Well, I'm glad someone can push Peeves around."

Surprisingly, she was finding it easy to talk to Remus. He wasn't acting like the arrogant git she always pictured him as. Lily couldn't wait to start patroling with him.

**Lily and Remus were lively chatting on their way back to the Fat Lady. **

"Fairy lights!"

They entered the Gryffindor common room to find it half full. Claire and Natalie were talking by the fire, while James and Sirius were sprawled on the armchairs.

"Lily, why don't you officially meet my friends," Remus said with strange smile. She got the feeling Remus knew something she didn't.

"Er...sure," Lily said reluctantly. She didn't want to let Remus down. They were becoming great friends.

"Hey James, Sirius! I'm sure you know Lily Evans?"

"Oh yeah, who doesn't?" said James, with a smile.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Lily scowled.

"Calm down!" said Sirius, "James's only being friendly."

"Friendly? I suppose the pranks you pull on my friends and I are friendly too?"

"Oh, come on Lily! Those are harmless bits of fun!" said James.

"LILY! What are you doing over here?" asked Natalie.

"Well, Remus thought it would be a nice idea to, how'd you phrase it? Oh yes, 'offically meet' James and Sirius."

"What?" snorted Claire.

"_Everyone_ knows Lily dislikes them," Natalie said, as though they didn't have a clue.

"Yeahh, I don't think that was a good idea," said Claire, laughing.

"Natalie! Claire! Lets go to bed!" Lily said, with a hint of anger.

The three girls marched to their dormitories without another sound.

"Why does she hate me?" sighed James.

"Because you can truly be a git when you want to be," grinned Sirius.

**The three girls walked up the spiral staircase to their dormitories. Once they were inside, Lily slammed the door. Claire and Natalie were still laughing about the incident that had just happened. **

"Come on you guys, it's not funny!"

"You should've seen your face! Why do you let them bother you so much?" Natalie was trying hard not to laugh.

"I think you should give them a chance, Lily," Claire said truthfully, "Next time Remus wants you to be around his friends, just try to see past how immature they are."

Though she hated to admit it, Lily knew that Claire had a point.

"I guess I could try a bit harder...I just don't understand why James can't be _normal_!"

**  
----------- back in the common room ------------  
**

**  
"James! Why'd you scare her off like that?" Remus said angrily, "How do you expect any of us to get to know her when you're always being a selfish git!" **

"I wasn't being selfish, I was being myself."

"Can't you just try to act normal for once?" Remus said, getting up from his chair.

"Why do you care how I act towards her? Do you like her, or something?"

Remus was shocked. He'd never thought of it before, but maybe he did feel something toward Lily. He looked at James with such anger he could've pierced a hole right through him. He went up the spiral staircase to his dormitory, without saying a word to anyone.


	3. Chapter 3

**It was the following Monday and Lily just earned Gryffindor another 10 points in Charms. She really enjoyed that subject. Everything seemed to be going her way, until a certain James Potter showed up. **

"Hey, Lily!"

'Just keep walking...ignore him...he'll stop sooner or later,' she thought.

"Are you not speaking to me? Come off it, Lily! I didn't mean to be a jerk the other day."

"Did James Potter just apologize?" said Lily, sarcastically.

"I thought you weren't speaking to me," he smiled, "Anyways...I thought we could, you know, try and get along?"

"And why on earth would we need to get along?"

"Why? Well, Remus thinks you're a neat girl. So, therefore, we must get along."

Lily thought for a second, 'Remus thinks I'm neat? What does he mean by that?...'

"Argh, Potter! I'm running late for Potions!"

"How about I walk you there? You know, a form of my apology?" asked James. He didn't know why, but her apology meant a lot to him.

"No!" Lily shouted, her eyes blazing. It was obvious how much James Potter could get on her last nerve.

'Well,' he said to himself, 'I guess that's the end of that.'

**Potions began when Professor Linkstam entered the room. She was a strange teacher, that loved deducting points from every house but her own. **

"Good evening, class!" Linkstam roared, "Today we will begin a potion to heal grindylow stings."

"Can we choose our own partners?" asked Sirius.

"No. I will be choosing your partners today, Black," she said coldly. Linkstam knew that when James and Sirius were partners, trouble arose.

"Black, you'll be working with Lupin. Ms. Steubing, you may be paired with Ms. Clark. Ms. Evans, you will be with Potter..."

Lily froze. 'Potter? Did she just say Potter? No, I must've heard wrong...'

Lily raised her hand in the air. "Professor Linkstam?"

"...Snape, you'll be working with Higgins. Ah, yes, Ms. Evans?"

"I'm awefully sorry, Professor, but who am I paired with?"

"Mr. Potter, now get to work!" said Linkstam, annoyed.

"Don't look so cheerful, Lily," said James. He walked up to her desk and pulled up a chair.

"Er, right. Well, lets begin," she said, stiffly. She thought she'd act as if nothing happened. Maybe they could get through this class with a decent mark.

"I'll get the ingredients. You get the cauldron."

Lily was lost in thought. 'What? Was James taking charge? We'll see about that...'

Lily gathered the cauldron and headed back towards her desk. She organized the ingredients and made sure she had everything set.

James sighed, "Lily, you're not going to work on this alone. That's why we have partners."

"Fine! But if you mess this up, you're done for."

James glanced at the board and began cutting the ingredients. Lily was shocked that he was helping. Usually if you get paired with James or Sirius, you might as well be alone. Remus would help, though. Lily stole a glance at Remus. He was stirring his potion, while Sirius was secretly throwing jinxes across the room at Snape. This made Lily scowl.

James heard her and followed her gaze. "You know, we're not that bad, Sirus and I."

"Wha-at? I don't know what you're talking about."

"And I don't see you scowling at Remus. Say, do you fancy him?" asked James wide-eyed.

Lily dropped her spoon in the cauldron, shocked at what James asked her. "Remus? Me? No!" She said this a little too quickly for James's liking.

James didn't know why, but the thought of Lily with Remus made him extremely angry. He tried to brush it off, but not before Lily noticed.

"Even if I did fancy Remus, what would it matter to you?" she asked coldy.

"Well, Remus is one of my best friends," he covered up smoothly. They were letting the potion set for 5 minutes.

"And your point is?"

"Obviously, you wouldn't last long as a couple if you didn't like his best friends," James pointed out.

"Who said anything about us becoming a couple? Listen, Potter, get that idea out of your head!" she said, angrily.

He didn't know why, but James was very relieved to hear that.

"Alright, times up! Bring your samples to my desk!" called Linkstam.

"I've got it," said James. He was determined to show Lily that he wasn't as immature as she thought he was.

"So, James, how was working with Lily?" asked Sirius with a knowing look. He, too, was in line.

"Not too bad," he said, "We actually had forms of communication." He didn't have to mention they agrued the entire time.

"Well, something's better than nothing."

"Right you are," said James, nearly at Linkstam's desk.

"Potter and Evans. Well, the color looks about right. Lets test it!" She put a spoon full of their potion onto what looked like grindylow venom. The venom was bubbly and looked a violent shade of purple. The moment the potion touched the venom it mysteriously turned transparent.

"Well done, Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans. You've received full marks," she said, somewhat displeased.

'Lily's going to love to hear this!' James raced back to their desks and informed her.

"We did? That's wonderful!" she said, excitedly. She put her hand forward for James to shake.

James shook it, confused.

"Well done, James. Think of this as a sort of peace offering."

"Friends?"

She snorted, "I wouldn't get carried away. I'd like to think we're only two people that are polite towards eachother, if you know what I mean."

'Of course, why would she want to be friends already? I'll show her, James Potter can be mature.'

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean," he finally said.

**When Lily got up to leave the Potions classroom, Natalie and Claire came up behind her laughing. **

"You and James sure looked like you were having fun!" Natalie said sarcastically.

Claire laughed and said, "I hope you two aren't thinking of becoming a couple.."

"Stop that, you're becoming more immature than he is." Lily said, she was really getting sick of those two.

"Ohh Lily, did you forget about Paul Schmidt? I thought _he_ was your one and only, not James Potter." Claire said with a disgusted look on her face, "I told you to give him a chance, not become his best friend."

Lily had had enough. She didn't understand why her friends acted this way anytime James was brought into the picture. Having been forced to work with him today, she noticed he actually could have a gentleman side to him if he tried. She could almost see herself being with him more often, but she didn't want to take it _that_ far yet. "I'll see you guys later," she said, and she left to go to the library.


	4. Chapter 4

When Lily finally slipped away from her annoying friends, she settled herself in a comfy chair in the library. She found that it was the only place she could think and relax. It was her favorite place in the castle. Just as she was about to start on her homework, she noticed Remus walk in. He glanced at her quickly, gave a strange look, and walked towards the back of the library.

'Hmm, I wonder what he's up to..' She thought, 'I think I'll find out.'

She started to look through the many bookshelves, pretending to search for a book, when she finally found him. He was sitting at a table in the corner with his elbows on his knees, in deep thought.

"Hey," Lily asked, "what are you doing here?"

"Just came to study some stuff." It hardly looked like he went there to study, he hadn't even brought any books with him. When he noticed how stupid it sounded, he started to blush.

"Me too..Hey, do you want to go take a walk?" She decided to break the awkward silence.

"Yeah sure.."

-----------

As they walked around the Hogwarts grounds, they talked about a lot of things. Quidditch, school, friends, and the trip to hogsmeade coming up later in the week. She noticed his mood change gradually the more they talked. He seemed to be getting a lot happier.

"So is everything alright with you?" She asked.

There was a slight pause, when he aswered, "Yeah...Yeah everything's fine with me."

He seemed to be hiding something, but she didn't want to push the topic any further. "It's getting kind of dark out, I think we should start walking back."

-----------

They were almost at the portrait of the fat lady, when Remus stopped Lily.

"Lily, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything."

"Well, you know the Hogsmeade trip that's coming up...," he glanced at her but quickly looked away, "Well...I was thinking maybe you could come with me. It could be fun..?"

Her face broke into a smile, "That'd be great."


	5. Chapter 5

thanks for the reviews everyone! here's another chapter.

"Hey Lily, what do you want to do at hogsmeade today?" pondered Natalie, while everyone was busying themselves with breakfast.

"Er, I was thinking about staying here. You know, catching up on homework and things," Lily said casually, "I've got piles of unfinished Charms to do." The last thing she wanted was her friends knowing about her date with Remus. She'd never hear the end of it.

"Alright, Lily," said Claire, uncertainly. She casted a knowing look at Natalie, "Whatever you say."

"Well, I'm off to the library!" Lily said, hastily, "Have fun, will you?"

"Something tells me that the library's not the only place Lily will be going today..." said Natalie, earning a nod from Claire.

It was 10:00 AM when Lily bounced down the stairs to the common room, searching for Remus. She was really looking forward to spending time with him.

"Lily! Over here!"

She turned around and found him standing by the portrait.

"You're here early," Lily said with a smile.

"Well, then you're late," he teased. He held out his arm for Lily to take, and she took it gladly.

It wasn't long before they were seated inside the The Three Broomsticks, merrily drinking a cup of butterbeer. Lily and Remus were having so much fun together, talking and laughing, oblivious to their surroundings. Until they saw James and Sirius enter.

"Oh, no," he muttered, though Lily heard him.

Lily followed his eyes, "Oh, great.."

"Just act as if you don't see them," said Remus, "Perhaps they won't notice us..."

But who was Remus kidding, of course they'd notice them. And sure enough, just as he took a seat, Sirius spotted them.

"James, guess who's on the other side of this very room?" whispered Sirius, mischievously.

"Who?"

"Remus and Lily. Together!"

"What?" James turned his head so fast, he heard it crack. "What's he doing here with her !"

Sirius saw a flicker of jealousy shoot through James' eyes. "Why don't we pay them a friendly little visit..."

"So much for hoping," Lily said to Remus, as she saw James and Sirius walking towards them, "They're headed this way."

"Hey, Remus!" said Sirius, heartily, settling himself and James in a seat next to them, "And dearest Lily! What would the two of you be doing together, alone?"

"Yeahhh," added James, finally recovering from seeing Lily and Remus together, "I don't recall you telling us you had a date. With Lily, of all people."

"So?" Lily spoke up, harshly. She could tell that Remus had suddenly turned quiet, and his cheeks were a light shade of pink.

Remus cleared his throat, "Yeah, must have let that little detail slip...Anyone for another drink?" and without a response, he left the table.

"James!" Lily said angrily, "What happened to acting more mature?"

James, realizing his jealousy got the better of him, ignored her and said, "What are you doing on a date with Remus?"

Just as she was going to respond, Lily saw two more unwanted faces enter The Three Broomsticks, Natalie and Claire. Within seconds, they spotted Lily, James and Sirius.

'Can my day get any worse!' thought Lily, 'Everything was going perfectly and in a flash it's all turning upside down!'

Natalie and Claire walked toward Lily. "What happened to the library?" they asked her, looking amused.

"Well, I decided to come after all! And I saw Remus sitting here by himself. I didn't want him to get too lonely, so I decided to keep him company."

"Then why are you sitting with James and Sirius..?" stated Claire, obviously confused.

"Remus decided to refill our drinks," Lily said, pointing in the direction of the register.

"Oh," Natalie and Claire said simultaneously.

"Well, see you," said Claire, with a look of disgust.

"Bye," Natalie said, with a similar look.

"You sure have some lovely friends!" said Sirius sarcastically.

"I knew it was too good to be true," Lily muttered.

"And what's that?" asked Sirius.

"Your lack of speech. Honestly, boys, I don't think I've seen you stay quiet that long."

"Lily, honestly," said James, "Do you think we live to torture you?"

"Truthfully, I'm not sure anymore. Where in the world is Remus?"

Just as he was mentioned, Remus appeared with another round of butterbeers. "Sorry, long line," he mumbled apologetically.

Just as they were about to drink, a scream pierced their ears. It was coming from just outside the building.


	6. Chapter 6

When they walked outside, a huge crowd of people were standing around. They tried to get to center of it to see what all the commotion was about, but no one would move out of their way. They finally started to get closer, and Lily could see in between a few of the people standing in front of her.

"Oh my god," She muttered aloud. She could hear all the people around her talking amongst themselves. The limp body of Paul Schmidt was lying just a few feet away. Lily could hardly take it, she burst into tears as James watched, horrified. Sirius and Remus ran to get a teacher, while Lily and James were left alone. She felt broken inside, and needed to get away. She started to walk back to the castle when she heard someone call her name. It was James.

"Please, go away," she begged, as tears flooded her eyes.

"I'm not leaving, I want to help." That was the last thing she heard as her legs gave out, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. James picked her up and carried her back to the castle.

--------

As he carried her to the hospital wing, he couldn't help but notice her stunning beauty. The way her long red hair bounced with each step, her sparkling emerald eyes, and her porcelain skin. He couln't stop looking at her, and each time he became more breathless than the last.

When he arrived, Madame Pomfrey looked at him and said, "Oh, she's only just fainted. She should be here for about an hour before she's ready to leave, you may stay if you like."

Of course James wanted to stay, he needed to take care of her. So he waited an hour and a half before he saw her stir.

The first thing she saw when she woke up was James, and it was quite a shock to her. "Wh-what happened?"

"You fainted, so I carried you here."

Everything that had happened just hours earlier came flooding back. Hogsmeade, the scream, the crowds, and Paul Schmidt. "Is he dead?"

James knew she was talking about Paul. "I think so, people are saying it was the Avada Kedavra curse," she became silent and spaced out, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah..I'm fine. I'm just going to miss him, that's all." She could really tell that James was trying to handle the situation very maturely. She was thankful for that, and couldn't be happier to see James sitting next to her. "Why are you doing this for me?"

"Just think of it as me repaying you for all the pranks I've pulled," he said with a grin.

Madame Pomfrey came in to tell them that dinner had begun, so James and Lily walked to the Great Hall, and ate in silence. They both had discovered something that day that could change their lives forever.


End file.
